Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA explored the effects of mindfulness meditation training on selected biological markers of HIV-1 progression.

The study tested the efficacy of an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction meditation program (MBSR), as compared to a 1-day control seminar, to assay CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in stressed HIV infected adults.

A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with enrollment and follow-up occurring between November 2005 and December 2007. A diverse community sample of 48 HIV-1 infected adults was randomized to enter treatment in either an 8-week MBSR or a 1-day control stress reduction education seminar.

The primary outcome measure was the circulating counts of CD4+ T lymphocytes. Participants in the 1-day control seminar showed declines in CD4+ T lymphocyte counts, whereas counts among participants in the 8-week MBSR program were unchanged from baseline to post-intervention (time x treatment condition interaction, p=.02).

We got a wonderful thank you note from someone who breezed through a complicated surgery, in spite of a history of panic disorder, generalized anxiety and depression...

Dear Belleruth and Health Journeys,

I just had to write with thanks and good news.

I was scheduled for hysterectomy on May 1, 2008 (due to huge fibroids), with rectocele repair and vaginal re-suspension a few weeks ago. I downloaded your Surgery preparation mp3 April 23rd, approximately one week prior, and began listening immediately.

I am a nurse with a history of panic disorder, generalized anxiety and depression, as well as chronic, negative thought processes. I have been improving over the last year with help from counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy, and recently began yoga and breathwork, but still have a long way to go.

Incredibly, my surgery was a breeze! I was eight hours from home, realized I had to let go of the expectations I had for this surgery (for instance, I found I had to have general anesthesia instead of regional, and a midline incision instead of a "bikini"), and, to top it off, I was several hours late going into surgery.

I listened to the surgery preparation in its entirety prior to going in as well as some positive, uplifting music that I enjoyed.

Despite the things that could have been perceived as having "gone wrong", I was calm and unstressed. No shivering, shaking, trembling or sweating. No teeth chattering (all reactions I''ve experienced in the past). I had nothing but pleasant, peaceful feelings and thoughts.

My last awareness was going down the hallway from the pre-op area to the OR. I have no recollection from that point until peacefully awakening in recovery hours later, with little pain and pleasantly speaking with the nurses, happy smile on my face.

My blood loss was minimal at approximately 450ml. My incision was considerably smaller than was expected. I had no nausea or anesthesia difficulties.

Postoperatively, my pain level has been 0-5 at most and I haven''t needed a whole lot of medication. My incision is healing without incident. I am eating and eliminating without difficulty.

I cannot thank you enough. I plan to use imagery more, as I work a very stressful job. I''m sure they will help me to cope. I mentioned guided imagery to anyone who would listen in the hospital and will also discuss this with my psychologist. Please feel free to use my comments any way you see fit.

University of Miami researchers conclude that a 10-week, group-based, stress management program for people with HIV infection is associated with positive changes in mood, neuroendocrine functioning and immunologic status.

The researchers propose that changes in relaxation skills, cognitive coping strategies and social support may mediate the mood effects of CBSM, and that these mood changes may mediate adrenal hormone regulation indicated by reductions in 24-h urinary cortisol (with reduced depressed mood) and norepinephrine (with reduced anxiety), along with increases in serum DHEA-S and testosterone levels (with reduced depressed mood).

The results also suggest that CBSM-related changes in production of these hormones may explain, in part, the effects of this intervention on short-term changes in IgG antibody titers to herpes viruses (with increased DHEA-S-to-cortisol ratio), and longer-term changes in lymphocyte subpopulations such as CD8 suppressor/cytotoxic cells (with reductions in urinary noradrenaline output) and transitional naive CD4 cells (with reductions in urinary cortisol output).

The analysis concludes that a multi-modal CBSM intervention is associated with alterations in mood, neuroendocrine functioning and immunologic status, and that this may well have important health implications for HIV infection.

]]>design@emediacy.net (Belleruth Naparstek)HIV/Aids ResearchMon, 24 Jan 2005 04:44:59 -0500Man with HIV writes of his journey since 1990http://blog.healthjourneys.com/hiv-aids/man-with-hiv-writes-of-his-journey-since-1990.html
http://blog.healthjourneys.com/hiv-aids/man-with-hiv-writes-of-his-journey-since-1990.htmlA man diagnosed with HIV back in 1990, used guided imagery to stay strong long enough to resist the limited medical options of the day, until 1997, when some decent new drugs, docs and options came along..

Dear Ms. Naparstek,

I heard you a week ago on the radio. I am the person who called in and related my
story about how I had used your Guided Imagery techniques in managing my
HIV illness. I wanted to let you know a little more about my journey. I hope my story will help others see there are often several paths to a state of well-being.

I was diagnosed HIV+ in Dec. 1990, during a time when treatment options
for HIV were relatively new and quite limited. The response of
allopathic medicine at that time was one of fear; doctors had only a few
drugs to use in treating HIV illness. My intuition at that time was
that medicines were being over-prescribed, and that the treatment was
worse than the disease. My experience was that the people who were
getting sick and dying of HIV/AIDS were people who were on the meds. I
resisted using any meds throughout the early stages of my illness, until
I found a sensible doctor who put me on a manageable schedule of
treatment in 1997.

There was a bad reaction from my care providers when I refused to take
any medicine. In fact, I stopped going to the doctor altogether when
they started to demand that I start taking meds in 1993. That''s when I
ran across your tape cassette program on Guided Imagery for Persons with
HIV and AIDS, and I have to tell you that I listened to that program
literally hundreds of times. This helped me to focus on staying well
and allowing my body''s natural healing response to take hold and not be
interrupted by treatment options of the day.

Later on, in 1997, my physician demanded that I start meds. By then my
T-cell counts had dropped to under 200, and I officially had AIDS.
Again I refused to accept the finality of my situation. My deal with
the doctor was that, in my opinion, while AIDS may be fatal, it was the
drugs that were harming people and causing steady decline in health. He
agreed to a simple treatment regimen of a four-drug cocktail,
experimental at that time. This was just when protease inhibitors had
been approved by the FDA and starting to be used. These drugs are very
powerful and effective in controlling HIV but can have terrible side
effects. These drugs made my viral load undetectable and thus allowed
my t-cell counts to start to rise steadily. Today I have normal levels
of t-cells with undetectable viral load; all this on a once-a-day
treatment regimen on minimal drug use.

I truly believe that your techniques allowed me to slow the progression
of my disease by giving me the strength to resist the harmful allopathic
treatment of the day and postpone treatment until better drugs were
available. Even more, guided imagery gave me the determination to fight
this illness and survive. As the saying goes, Living well is the best
revenge: for me, being alive (and thriving!) with HIV is revenge on the
traditional medical community.

Thanks again for your work. I will always remember what you have done
for me.

Segerstrom, Taylor, Kemeny, Reed and Visscher studied 86 HIV gay, seropositive men to test the relationship between decline of immune function (helper T-cells CD4) and negative beliefs about the self. There did appear to be an association between attributing negative events to aspects of the self and a faster CD4 decline over 18 months, controlling for things such as depression and health behavior. But there was no significant difference in the onset of AIDS.